Las Vegas, Nevada – A heated rivalry between two of the sport’s hardest-hitting heavyweights will be settled on Saturday, Dec. 15 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® makes its long awaited return to The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin will meet The Ultimate Fighter® season 10 winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson in the night’s five-round main event. The two serve as opposing coaches on this season’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter® (Fridays, FX, 10 p.m. ET/PT) and will finally have the chance to trade leather this December.

Plus, this season’s The Ultimate Fighter® winner will be crowned when the Octagon® makes its way back to The Joint.

“Roy Nelson has gotten under Shane Carwin’s skin all season and Shane’s ready to try to knock him out,” UFC president Dana White said. “I don’t expect this one to go the distance. Roy and Shane were civil to each other on ‘TUF,’ but they can’t stand each other and after having to spend six weeks together, Shane said he can’t wait to knock Roy out. These two are both known for having heavy hands. Chances are someone is getting knocked out. Best part is the coaches will fight on the TUF Finale Live on FX from Hard Rock Hotel here in Vegas.”

Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® Finale go on sale Friday, Oct. 12 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $304, $254, $179, $154, $104 and $79. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the Hard Rock Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com, www.thejointlasvegas.com or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Oct. 11, starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.